US Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha DistrictCopyright (c) 2014 University of Nebraska - Lincoln All rights reserved.http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha
Recent documents in US Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha Districten-usThu, 11 Dec 2014 12:22:11 PST3600Effects of salinity on photosynthesis and respiration of the seagrass <i>Zostera
japonica</i>: A comparison of two established populations in North Americahttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/150
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/150Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:02:20 PST
Photosynthetic responses were quantified for two Zostera japonica Aschers, and Graebn. populations from the northern and southern limits of distribution exposed to a range of salinities along the Pacific Coast of North America. Plants were collected from Padilla Bay, Washington (northern) and Coos Bay, Oregon, USA (southern) and cultured together in experimental tanks at 3 salinities (5, 20 and 35) under saturating irradiance for 3 weeks. Subsequently, photosynthesis–irradiance (P vs. E curves) relationships for leaf segments from the two populations were assessed using an oxygen electrode system. We found no evidence for diel rhythms in either light saturated photosynthesis (Pmax) or dark respiration (Rd). For the Padilla Bay population, Pmax ranged from 192 to 390 µmol O2 g DW−1 h−1; for the Coos Bay population Pmax ranged from 226 to 774 µmol O2 g DW−1 h−1. Photosynthetic maxima of the Coos Bay plants occurred at a salinity of 20, whereas salinity had no effect on the photosynthetic maxima of the Padilla Bay plants. There were significant differences in leaf tissue Rd among salinity treatments but the two populations responded similarly to salinity. North American populations of Z. japonica are best adapted to intermediate salinities, displaying minimum Rd rates, lower compensation irradiance, higher saturation irradiance, and greater Pmax rates at a salinity of 20. Additionally, the southern population may be better adapted to southward expansion along the Pacific Coast and changes associated with global climate change.
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Deborah J. Shafer et al.Anoxic treatment wetlands for denitrificationhttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/149
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/149Tue, 14 Jan 2014 12:54:20 PST
Anoxic subsurface flow (SSF) constructed wetlands were evaluated for denitrification using nitrified wastewater. The treatment wetlands utilized a readily available organic woodchip-media packing to create the anoxic conditions. After 2 years in operation, nitrate removal was found to be best described by first-order kinetics. Removal rate constants at 20°C (k20) were determined to be 1.41–1.30 d−1, with temperature coefficients (θ) of 1.10 and 1.17, for planted and unplanted experimental woodchip-media SSF wetlands, respectively. First-order removal rate constants decreased as length of operation increased; however, a longer-term study is needed to establish the steady-state values. The hydraulic conductivity in the planted woodchip-media SSF wetlands, 0.13–0.15 m/s, was similar to that measured in an unplanted gravel-media SSF control system.
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Harold L. Leverenz et al.RDX biodegradation column study: comparison of electron donors for
biologically induced reductive transformation in groundwaterhttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/148
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/148Tue, 14 Jan 2014 12:34:22 PST
A series of column studies, using site-specific soil and groundwater, were conducted to determine the feasibility of biologically active zone enhancement (BAZE) process for reductive biotransformation of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) in groundwater. This treatability study examined the use of four amendments (acetate, ethanol, soluble starch, and acetate plus ammonium), which served as electron donors. Triplicate columns, with groundwater residence time of about 27.5 h, were used for each amendment treatment and the amendment control. In treatment columns amendment dosing was 500 mg/L C for carbon sources and 100 mg/L N for ammonium. Each of the amendment treatments reduced RDX inlet concentrations of 100 µg/L to less than 1 µg/L. The highest first-order RDX biodegradation rate ranged between 0.140 and 0.447 h−1 for acetate amended columns as compared to 0.037 to 0.083 h−1 in control columns (no amendment). The addition of soluble starch resulted in increased toxicity (based on Microtox® analysis) that was partially removed by biological activity in the columns. Ethanol addition itself did not result in increased toxicity but biological activity in this system did induce Microtox® toxicity. Acetate did not have any Microtox® toxicity associated with it. The addition of ammonium as a nitrogen source did not significantly increase the removal rate of RDX. Based on these observations acetate was selected for the field demonstration.
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Jeffrey L. Davis et al.Assessment of Conceptual Nonstructural Alternative Levee Setbacks along the Missouri River (Lower L-575 / Upper L-550 and Lower L-550)http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/147
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/147Tue, 14 Jan 2014 07:08:19 PST
Historic Flooding along Missouri River • long duration • large discharges • high stages • high velocities • levee breaches • levee erosion • excessive damages • recurring damage locations

A Flood Risk Question: If we continue to do what we have always done, why would we expect different results?

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John I. RemusSteward of Headwaters: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District 1975-2000http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/146
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/146Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:47:47 PDT
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is one of fortyone districts in the Corps’ organization. As the northernmost district in the Mississippi Valley Division, it centers on the headwaters of the Mississippi River and the uppermost section of the river’s nine-foot navigation channel. The St. Paul District oversees civil works projects and conducts disaster relief within the geographic boundaries of the district, implements the Corps’ regulatory program in the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin and assists with other Corps’ missions wherever needed. The following history updates the book Creativity, Conflict & Controversy: A History of the St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, published in 1979. This book describes how the St. Paul District responded to enormous changes in the Corps’ missions and organization in the last quarter of the twentieth century.
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Theodore Catton et al.Research and Development in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Improving the Common Stock of Knowledgehttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/145
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/145Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:43:43 PDT
When Charles A. Camillo, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley Division and U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) historian, approached me in 2007 about the possibility of working on a history of ERDC, I was excited about the potential of the project. He outlined a volume that would cover scientific research in engineering, hydraulics, computer science, topography, environmental science, and other technical fields. As one raised by an engineer in a town with one of the highest concentrations of physicists, engineers, and computer developers in the country — Huntsville, Alabama — and as someone who had written about computers and technology for years, I saw the project as an opportunity to bring my personal interests and experiences to bear on describing one of the most unique organizations in the country. Discussing the project, he envisioned not just an organizational yearbook that is all too often the tone of Corps of Engineers histories, but a narrative of all research and development activities from the origins of the Corps to the modern day that would place ERDC in historical context. It was a sweeping topic requiring integration of a vast amount of information in a brief time — a little more than a year to meet the objective of the anniversary of the formation of ERDC. The result is the present volume. Although it falls short of a comprehensive history, a task that would have taken many years and many volumes to complete, it briefly treats the many Corps research and development activities that led to the formation of ERDC in the context of U.S. engineering research, focusing primarily on the six fields that fall under ERDC: topography and photogrammetry, hydraulics and coastal engineering, geotechnology and structural engineering, construction research, cold regions research and engineering, environmental science, and information technology.
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Damon MandersResponsiveness and Reliability: A History of the Philadelphia District and the Marine Design Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1972-2008http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/144
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/144Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:39:00 PDTEssayons. Long the motto of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this single French imperative is best translated as “Let Us Try.” At first glance, it’s an unlikely rallying cry. Just try? Doesn’t it matter if we succeed? We all know one answer: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” But more important— if at first you don’t try, you won’t succeed at all.

That is how the men and women of the Corps’ Philadelphia District embody the true essayons spirit: They keep succeeding because they never stop trying.

This volume picks up where The District: A History of the Philadelphia District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1866–1971 leaves off. Aside from the updated time period, the title of this book acknowledges the former Marine Design Division becoming a separate Corps organization in 1979, although both the location and the legacy of the Philadelphia District and the Marine Design Center have remained close together.

We also wanted the title to capture the essential qualities that best reflect the District’s reputation. We are known for trying and doing our best from the beginning (responsiveness to customer needs) through to the end (reliability in delivering solutions that meet those needs).

In these pages, we look at the changes and challenges that have affected the District as a whole, along with the programs, projects, and events that have defined its mission. A lot changed between the Philadelphia District of 1972, which had become largely a civil works district focused on navigation and flood control, and the Philadelphia District of 2008, which had evolved into a full-service district—with its historic military construction mission restored and a third mission officially dedicated to reimbursable work for non-Corps customers. We were always known as a “dredging district,” but now we dredge for shore protection as well as for navigation. We had long enjoyed a good reputation with our Army and Air Force customers; now that network of satisfied customers includes EPA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and many others. What was always a top-notch engineering organization is now a top-notch engineering and environmental organization. We always responded to any emergency, any contingency. We still do, but more often, and often much farther from home. For decades, one of the District’s divisions handled naval architecture and marine engineering for the Corps’ varied and wide-ranging fleet; now, as the Marine Design Center, its customer base has steadily grown to include the Army and other federal agencies.

Like that first volume, this is not a comprehensive record of all programs, projects, and events spanning almost four decades. That would require many more volumes. Rather, it is a continuation of the narrative about a unique organization and some of the things that made it so. We did not intend this as a bound catalog of facts, but as a book worth reading. We hope we have succeeded, and that you find it both educational and enjoyable. Most important, I hope you come away with a deeper understanding of the pride I have in serving with such a fine group of people.

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Matthew C. Godfrey et al.Fort Peck- A Half-Century and Holdinghttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/143
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/143Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:31:20 PDT
Fifty years ago, thousands gathered on the Fort Peck Dam to witness its closure-a major milestone along the road leading to completion of the largest hydraulic fill dam in the world.

That moment was the symbolic beginning of the great legacy known as the Pick-Sloan Plan, which includes the six mainstem dams on the Missouri River.

Many of those who were party to this great undertaking will join with us in this Golden Anniversary year to reflect on the opportunities provided for employment during the Depression, and as the ~ginning of successful careers that led them across the country.

These people embodied the pioneer spirit as they sought opportunity in a remote area of our nation.

They are symbols of dedication, hope and achievement to those of us who now carry the torch, ever mindful of the proud heritage of the Omaha District.

The 50th Anniversary of the dam's closure is an appropriate time to reflect on the magnitude of what was achieved in those early years on the barren prairies of northeastern Montana.

The builders overcame the suffering synonymous with the Great Depression, not to mention brutal weather and engineering obstacles that might have discouraged those with less backbone or mettle.

Fort Peck stands as a symbol of what made our country the greatest country in the world-determination, drive and the ability to overcome all obstacles.

The mightiness of human will is the real core of the Fort Peck Dam.

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Steven G. West et al.Divine Providence: The 2011 Flood in the Mississippi River and Tributaries Projecthttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/142
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/142Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:21:11 PDT
As the historian for the Mississippi River Commission and the Mississippi River and Tributaries project, I face the dilemma of leaving behind a record of current events for future generations. Oddly, it is easier for me to document the activities and accomplishments of the commission and the project from one hundred years ago than five or ten years ago. This is because very few paper records exist nowadays. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi River Commission generate voluminous amounts of memoranda, studies, correspondence, and briefings, but most can only be found in an electronic format. It was against this backdrop that I endeavored to produce this study.

I do not view the pages that follow as a historical study, although I do incorporate historical material to provide context for key elements of the story. Instead, the narrative is more representative of an eyewitness account of a historic event. During several presentations and speaking engagements that I delivered after the flood, my audiences seemed to want the answer to three basic questions. The first involved the decision-making processes at the three floodways placed into operation in 2011. The second involved the history of the Birds Point-New Madrid floodway. The third involved the absence of a floodway to relieve pressure between the Birds Point-New Madrid floodway and the Old River control complex. This study attempts to addresses those questions.

The chapters that chronicle the 2011 flood rely heavily on my own notes – a diary of sorts – interviews conducted after the event with key players that I identified during my coverage of the flood, daily situation reports from the district offices, daily emergency management briefings that tracked changing conditions, and electronic correspondence. To that end, one of the purposes of this study is to leave behind a transparent record of the 2011 flood so that future historians will have a central repository to work from. Yet, there is one caveat. The flood roughly spanned a three-week period and impacted the entire Mississippi River and Tributaries project system. Naturally, I could not be in all places at once, so coverage is limited to the three floodways and the flood fight in the Vicksburg Engineer District. Heroic flood fights took place along both banks of the Mississippi River from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atchafalaya River from Simmesport to Morgan City. The absence of a detailed discussion at any specific location is in no way intended to trivialize those desperate efforts to convey the flood.

The chapters that provide historical context rely heavily on my personal collection of primary source material accumulated over the past decade in the form of correspondence, technical papers, reports, and Engineering News-Record articles. For those interested in learning more about the history of the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, I strongly recommend Designing the Bayous: The Control of Water in the Atchafalaya Basin, 1800-1995, by Martin Reuss and Upon Their Shoulders: A history of the Mississippi River Commission through the advent of the Modern Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, by Charles Camillo and Matthew Pearcy. For those interested in comparing what could have been during the historic 2011 flood to what happened in the valley during the 1927 fl ood prior to the establishment of the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, I recommend Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, by John Barry.

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Charles A. CamilloSurvey of the Golden-Cheeked Warbler on Fort Hood in Support of NEPA Requirementshttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/141
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/141Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:28:43 PDT
This research on the golden-cheeked warbler (GCW) was con-ducted on Fort Hood, Texas, during April and June 2006. Subject matter experts on Fort Hood were consulted and helped determine which areas of the installation contained suitable GCW habitat but were not already included in The Nature Conservancy’s intensive study program. Researchers then surveyed one of these areas, documenting the presence of GCW. This research was conducted to determine if data collected in the intensive study area has been successfully extrapolated to other areas of habitat on the installation.

The collected data showed that the territory density was lower than those found on TNC’s intensive study areas, but pairing success was very similar to the TNC data, and the number of territorial males producing ≥ 1 fledgling was considerably higher than TNC’s estimates.

This study supports the possibility of extrapolating TNC’s data to areas on Fort Hood that have not been intensively sampled. However, the small scope of this project and relatively low sample size make it necessary to preface the results with one caveat: additional years of data collection on this study site would equate to a higher measure of confidence in the results.

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Bruce MacAllister et al.Program For Reclamation
Of Surface Aquiferhttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/140
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/140Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:25:13 PDT
This report is a final follow-up to a preliminary study done by the corps of engineers: preliminary study ground water contamination, RMA, 11 May 1960. Basic requirements for this study as outlined by the chemical corps included the following: 1. Plan for correction of contamination, 2. Determination of nature and extent of contamination, 3. Description and nature of phytotoxicants, 4. Determination of animal toxicity, and 5. Supplementary method of waste disposal. During the preparation of this report, chemical COPRS. Implied that the total responsibility for the combined efforts of all agencies involved in this work has been assigned to the corps of engineers, though no specific instructions to this effect have ever been received. Though there are problems to be solved, all efforts of all agencies are aimed at the final solution of the paramount problem: decontamination of the aquifer.
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C. E. JacobLaboratory Assessment of Advanced
Oxidation Processes for Treatment of
Explosives and Chlorinated Solvents in
Groundwater from the Former Nebraska
Ordnance Planthttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/139
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/139Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:19:55 PDT
The study herein was performed through a partnering effort between the U.S. Army Engineer District, Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, and the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES), Vicksburg, MS. The Kansas City District funded portions of this effort as a means of evaluating various treatment options for the contaminated groundwaters at the Nebraska Army Ammunition Plant, Mead, NE.

Some of the WES activities were performed under funding from the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP). WES has been tasked by SERDP to develop peroxone oxidation as an economical means of decontaminating groundwaters contaminated with explosives at DoD sites.

This study was performed at WES under the direct supervision of Mr. Daniel E. Averett, Chief, ERB, and under the general supervision of Mr. Norman R. Francingues, Jr., Chief, EED. Drs. John W. Keeley and John Harrison were the Assistant Director and Director of EL, respectively, during this study.

Dr. Harrison was also the Director of SERDP, Washington, DC, and Dr. M. John Cullinane was the WES Program Manager of SERDP during this study.

At the time of publication of this report, Dr. Robert W. Whalin was the Director of WES. COL Bruce K. Howard, EN, was Commander.

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Elizabeth C. Fleming et al.Report on the Floods of June 1965: South Platte River, Basin, Colorado and Nebraskahttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/138
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/138Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:16:16 PDT
This final report on the floods of June 1965 in the South Platte River Basin in Colorado and Nebraska is made in compliance with paragraph 172.80 of EM 500-1-1. A previous report was submitted to the Chief of Engineers on 10 August 1965 in response to a request from a subcommittee of the House Public Works Committee, entitled, "The Colorado and Kansas Floods of June 1965 - Report of the Special Subcommittee to Inspect Flooded Areas in Colorado and Kansas to the Committee on Public Works, House of Representatives, June 1965."

This report provides a more extensive record of the meteorological conditions of the flood producing storm, the hydrologic data of rainfall and flood discharges, the extent and magnitude of flooding and the economic damages and social impact caused by the floods. It is intended that the report serve as a source of information on flooding characteristics and damage potentials for public officials and private interests.

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A Regional Guidebook for Applying the
Hydrogeomorphic Approach to Assessing
Wetland Functions of Rainwater Basin
Depressional Wetlands in Nebraskahttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/137
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/137Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:11:59 PDT
The Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach is a method for developing functional indices and the protocols used to apply these indices to the assessment of wetland functions at a site-specific scale. The HGM Approach was initially designed to be used in the context of the Clean Water Act, Section 404 Regulatory Program, permit review to analyze project alternatives, minimize impacts, assess unavoidable impacts, determine mitigation requirements, and monitor the success of compensatory mitigation. However, a variety of other potential uses have been identified, including the determination of minimal effects under the Food Security Act, design of wetland restoration projects, and management of wetlands

This report uses the HGM Approach to develop a Regional Guidebook to (a) characterize ponded, herbaceous marshes on the loess plain of south-central Nebraska, (b) provide the rationale used to select functions of ponded, herbaceous depressional marsh subclass, (c) provide the rationale used to select model variables and metrics, (d) provide the rationale used to develop assessment models, (e) provide data from reference wetlands and document its use in calibrating model variables and assessment models, and (f) outline the necessary protocols for applying the functional indices to the assessment of wetland functions.

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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District Monthly Drought Report, September 2006http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/135
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/135Tue, 03 May 2011 14:34:35 PDT
Current Conditions

Mainstem Reservoir Storage Comparison Water Year 2004 vs. Water Year 2005

Ft. Peck, MT

Garrison, ND

Oahe, SD

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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District Monthly Drought Report, October 2007http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/133
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/133Tue, 03 May 2011 14:28:35 PDT
Current Conditions

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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District Monthly Drought Report, October 2006http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/132
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/132Tue, 03 May 2011 14:25:23 PDT
Current Conditions

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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District Monthly Drought Report, October 2005http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/131
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usarmyceomaha/131Tue, 03 May 2011 14:23:17 PDT
Current Conditions